Prolapse

[Why and Dotte]

One of my 1yr old br. leghorns had a prolapsed vent last night, I washed the area with warm water and put prep. H on it then pushed it back in. Today she's doing great, she's pooping, eating, drinking, but I feel an egg formed. I'm hoping that she can lay without problems, her eggs have never been over sized.
Does it usually come right back out after they lay?

ETA: I have her in a dark cage in the house, should I allow light in so she can lay or will she lay either way?

 

[CMV]

Putting her in a dark cage may put off the inevitable, but eventually she is going to lay that egg. I'd keep her separate until you see if the prolapse is going to recur. If she lays the egg and is okay then she can go back in with her flock. If the prolapse recurs, then you will need to do the same thing you did before and hope for the best. Once a hen prolapses the chance of it happening again is greater than average. There is nothing you can do to prevent it, but keeping her in a dim area for several days after a resolved prolapse may slow down her laying until the musculature heals. This may give her the chance to heal as thoroughly as possible and prevent a recurrence.

Good luck with her.

 

[Why and Dotte]

She was doing better for a while but when she passes feces she'll pop it out again, I'm still putting prep. H and I've added honey to it because I have read that it helps draw it back in. She's also getting an aspirin for pain, she ate it right out of my hand surprisingly.
She's starting to like bathes and the blow drier, a crazy leghorn -imagine that. She never passed an egg I thought she had so she must not have had one.
I was curious, what amount of feed should I give her? I want to reduce the amount of times she has to go so it is less likely to come out again, it's not very much the poo is very small.
Any other suggestions that I can do to make her more comfortable?

My family probably thinks I'm crazy right about now, giving a chicken a bath, blow drying her, rubbing preparation H and honey on her behind... of course I'm perfectly sane.

 

[CMV]

Here is an excerpt about forced molting. I know it is not what you are trying to achieve, but it gives some pertinent information regarding dietary needs and tolerances of chickens.

How to Basics in Forced Molting Layers – Force molting is a technique that forces the layers to change their feathers. In this process, the layers stop laying eggs for about a month in preparation for a bigger egg production in the following months ahead. After force molting, the layers’ feathers become shiny and the eggs have thicker shells.

Forced molting is very simple to do. Layers that have to undergo force molting should be 9 to 11 months old. If they are older, they might not be able to endure the torture they have to undergo. For 12 days, the birds are not given any commercial feed. They are only given water to drink.

On the 13th day, the birds are each given 10 grams of feed. This is very small since the normal diet of a layer is 110 grams per day. On the 14th day, the birds are given 20 grams of feed. On the 15th day, they are given 4o grams of feed. On the 16th day from the start of forced molting, they birds are given 80 grams and on the 17th day, full feed of 110 grams is given.

I do not condone the practice of starving birds to force a molt, but in this case you need to know what a chicken can tolerate. 110 grams of feed/day is the recommended daily feeding, so if you could give her that (or less) in two feedings (a.m. and p.m.) maybe she will be able to rest enough to allow for some healing to occur.

Your other option is to take her to a vet and have a purse stitch put in for a few days. A very expensive and not always effective option, but I thought I'd throw it out there.